[Illustration: FIG. 7.--Span-Roofed Vinery.]
The _Peach House_ is a structure in which the ripening of the fruit is accelerated by the judicious employment of artificial heat. For early forcing, as in vineries, the lean-to form is to be preferred, and the house may have a tolerably sharp pitch. A width of 7 or 8 ft., with the glass slope continued down to within a foot or two of the ground, and without any upright front sashes, will be suitable for such a house, which may also be conveniently divided into compartments of from 30 to 50 ft. in length according to the extent of the building, small houses being preferable to larger ones. As a very high temperature is not required, two or three pipes running the whole length of the house will suffice. The front wall should be built on piers and arches to allow the roots to pass outwards into a prepared border, the trees being planted just within the house. Abundant means of ventilation should be provided.
For more general purposes the house represented in fig. 8 will be found more useful. One set of trees is planted near the front, and trained to an arched trellis b. Another set is planted at the back, and trained on a trellis c, which is nearly upright, and leans against the back wall; or the back wall itself may be used for training. There are no upright front sashes, but to facilitate ventilation there are ventilators d in the front wall, and the upper roof sashes are made to move up and down for the same object. Two or three hot-water pipes are placed near the front wall. The back wall is usually planted with dwarf and standard trees alternately, the latter being temporary, and intended to furnish the upper part of the trellis, while the permanent dwarfs arc gradually filling up the trellis from below. In any case the front trellis should stop conveniently short of the top of the sashes if there are trees against the back wall, in order to admit light to them. They would also be better carried up nearly parallel to the roof, and at about 1 ft. distant from it, supposing there were no trees at the back.
A span-roofed house, being lighter than a lean-to, would be so much the better for peach culture, especially for the crop grown just in anticipation of those from the open walls since a high temperature is not required. A low span, with dwarf side walls, and a lantern ventilator along the ridge, the height in the centre being 9 ft., would be very well adapted for the purpose. The trees should be planted inside and trained up towards the ridge on a trellis about a foot from the glass, the walls being arched to permit the egress of the roots. A trellis path should run along the centre, and movable pieces of trellis should be provided to prevent trampling on the soil while dressing and tying in the young wood.